Author: Neill Jackson
Publisher: 30 Degrees South Publishers
ISBN: 9781920143572
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
September 6, 1979 a lone Puma helicopter flies northward, leaving behind the desolation of the battle for Mapai, in Mozambique's Gaza Province. Huddled in the cabin, two weary soldiers sit silently immersed in their own thoughts, contemplating their difficult duties ahead. WOII Graham Enslin, CSM, Support Commando, is struggling to come to terms with the death in action that morning of his younger brother Brian. The other, Lt Rick van Malsen BCR, 2IC, 1 Commando, works through the list of names in his hand, names of the 16 men who died with Trooper Brian Enslin when a South African Air Force Puma was shot out of the sky during the assault on the Frelimo and ZANLA stronghold at Mapai. It will be his job to send out the official death notices and to advise the next of kin that the bodies of the three South African airmen and 14 Rhodesian soldiers were not recovered. Both men vow that night, each for reasons of his own, to one day return to the scene of the crash to pay proper tribute to the fallen men. And so it was, almost 30 years later, that Rick van Malsen returns to the scene of that horrendous battle, to search for the crash site of the downed Puma, in an effort to achieve closure for the relatives of the dead. This is a story of courage and devotion to duty but, above all, it is a story of comradeship and loyalty undimmed by the passage of time, of a band of brothers bonded together in war, united still in peace.
Author: Svetlana Gerasimova
Publisher: Helion and Company
ISBN: 1910294179
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 280
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Book Description
Historians consider the Battle of Rzhev "one of the bloodiest in the history of the Great Patriotic War" and "Zhukov's greatest defeat". Veterans called this colossal battle, which continued for a total of 15 months, "the Rzhev slaughterhouse" or "the Massacre", while the German generals named this city "the cornerstone of the Eastern Front" and "the gateway to Berlin". By their territorial scale, number of participating troops, length and casualties, the military operations in the area of the Rzhev - Viaz'ma salient are not only comparable to the Stalingrad battle, but to a great extent surpass it. The total losses of the Red Army around Rzhev amounted to 2,000,000 men; the Wehrmacht's total losses are still unknown precisely to the present day. Why was one of the greatest battles of the Second World War consigned to oblivion in the Soviet Union? Why were the forces of the German Army Group Center in the Rzhev - Viaz'ma salient not encircled and destroyed? Whose fault is it that the German forces were able to withdraw from a pocket that was never fully sealed? Indeed, are there justifications for blaming this "lost victory" on G.K. Zhukov? In this book, which has been recognized in Russia as one of the best domestic studies of the Rzhev battle, answers to all these questions have been given. The author, Svetlana Gerasimova, has lived and worked amidst the still extant signs of this colossal battle, the tens of thousands of unmarked graves and the now silent bunkers and pillboxes, and has dedicated herself to the study of its history. Svetlana Aleksandrovna Gerasimova is a historian and museum official. After graduating from Leningrad State University with a history degree, she worked in the Urals as a middle school history teacher, before moving to Tver, where she taught a number of courses in history and local history, and about museum work and leading excursions in the Tver' School of Culture. She earned her Ph.D. in history from Tver State University in 2002. For more than 20 years, S.A. Gerasimova has been working in the Tver' State Consolidated Museum, and is the creator and co-creator of a many displays and exhibits in the branches of the Museum, and in municipal and institutional museums of the Tver' Oblast. Recent museum exhibits that she has created include "The Battle of Rzhev 1942-1943" and "The Fatal Forties … Toropets District in the Years of the Great Patriotic War." She has led approximately 20 historical and folklore-ethnographic expeditions in the area of Tver' Oblast and is the author of numerous articles in such journals as Voprosy istorii [Questions of History], Voenno-istoricheskii arkhiv [Military History Archive], Voenno-istoricheskii zhurnal [Journal of Military History] and Zhivaia starina [The Living Past], and of other publications. In 2009, she served as a featured consultant to a Russian NTV television documentary about the Battle of Rzhev, which quickly became controversial for its very frank discussion of the campaign. Stuart Britton is a freelance translator and editor residing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He has been responsible for making a growing number of Russian titles available to readers of the English language, consisting primarily of memoirs by Red Army veterans and recent historical research concerning the Eastern Front of the Second World War and Soviet air operations in the Korean War. Notable recent titles include Valeriy Zamulin's award-winning 'Demolishing the Myth: The Tank Battle at Prokhorovka, Kursk, July 1943: An Operational Narrative ' (Helion, 2011), Boris Gorbachevsky's 'Through the Maelstrom: A Red Army Soldier's War on the Eastern Front 1942-45' (University Press of Kansas, 2008) and Yuri Sutiagin's and Igor Seidov's 'MiG Menace Over Korea: The Story of Soviet Fighter Ace Nikolai Sutiagin' (Pen & Sword Aviation, 2009). Future books will include Svetlana Gerasimova's analysis of the prolonged and savage fighting against Army Group Center in 1942-43 to liberate the city of Rzhev, and more of Igor Seidov's studies of the Soviet side of the air war in Korea, 1951-1953.
Author: Linda Parker
Publisher: Helion and Company
ISBN: 1909982458
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 382
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Book Description
The generation that reached maturity in the inter war years had grown up in the shadow of the heroic age of Polar exploration and the sacrifices of a generation in the Great War. Their own adventures were to prove as astonishing and heroic as those of a previous generation. The members of the British Arctic air route expedition to Greenland, including Martin Lindsay, Quintin Riley and Freddie Spencer Chapman, were to pioneer the weather research methods necessary for Trans-Atlantic Flight. The university expeditions to Spitsbergen led by George Binney in the 1920s and Sandy Glen in the 1930s traversed and surveyed unexplored ground and contributed to developments in polar flight and radar. Glen's expeditions added to the knowledge of Arctic conditions by over-wintering. Other pre-war exploits of these adventurers included a voyage around the world the wrong way, and participation in the British Graham Land Antarctic expedition. Peter Fleming, brother to the creator of James Bond - Ian Fleming - spent the 1930s exploring Brazil, China and Tartary. Fleming's exploits are recounted in detail in this book. The character, skills and endurance obtained in these years set these adventurers and explorers apart as men who were to play a distinguished and heroic role in the Second World War. Their expertise in Arctic conditions, small boat handling, and exploring in all climatic conditions resulted in their participation in all aspects of warfare and arenas of battle, particularly as exponents of 'special operations', and as key members of Britain's first special forces. Their war service took them from the fjords of Norway and Spitsbergen to the jungles of Burma and Malaya and the beaches of Normandy and Italy. They were involved in blockade running, covert operations in Yugoslavia, Corsica and France and took part in major initiatives such as Ian Fleming's Intelligence gathering force, No 30 Assault unit, and the raid on St Nazaire. Most of these men had known each other before war came in 1939. In some cases they ended up serving alongside one another in wartime. The intertwined stories of these characters in peace and war are examples of how the spirit of adventure shown by men in the inter war years contributed to Britain's outstanding role in the Second World War. Linda Parker has written an important study that is equally relevant to both the history of British exploration and the genesis and early days of Britain's special forces 1939-45 - a quite unique and hitherto unexamined relationship. Linda Parker combines teaching History on a part time basis with her writing, and is currently completing a PhD at Birmingham University. Her main areas of interest are 20th Century Military History, Church History and the History of Polar exploration. She is a member of the Western Front Association. She was born and educated in Wales, but now lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and their dog. She enjoys walking and travelling, ideally together, and her ambition is to visit Antarctica. Her first book published by Helion was The Whole Armour of God: Anglican Army Chaplains in the Great War (2009).
Author: Frank Edwards
Publisher: Helion and Company
ISBN: 1908916826
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 282
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Book Description
The Gaysh tells the story of the emergence of an army following early attempts to protect the trade routes in and through Aden. From the first commercial treaty with the Abdali Sultan in 1802, various efforts were made to avoid looting, leading to the annexing of Aden Port by the East India Company in 1839. It was not until the Turks threatened to invade in the First World War that a regular army unit was formed. The 1st Yemen Infantry did not see action, and there was a move, on financial grounds, to disband it in 1928. Because a need remained, the decision was taken to replace its policing role by airpower, supported by a small force of levies to defend the bases, including a camel corps. The book takes that story on, chronologically, through the Aden Protectorate Levies' growing strength and its relationship with the British Government and its policies. It includes its part in the Silver Jubilee celebration parade in 1935, pre-1939 military operations, its role in WWII, its involvement in the evacuation of the Jews following the Arab/Jewish riots in Crater in 1947, and on to the creation of the Federation and the withdrawal of the British Army in 1967.
Author: Mike Hall
Publisher: Helion and Company
ISBN: 1909982512
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 199
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Book Description
With Trumpet, Drum and Fife' is described as a 'short treatise covering the rise and fall of military musical instruments on the battlefield'. Despite there being a plethora of books about military music, 'With Trumpet, Drum and Fife' stands out from the crowd in that it explores new areas of the world of military musical instruments. It is easy to read format and conciseness unwraps a depth and breadth of detail contained within. The chapters of the book guide you from the Ancient World through to the Restoration and up to the modern day giving examples of the origins and developments of the instruments employed. The author gives unique and well-researched accounts of the role of drummers within the military environment. The text explores the historical context of land battles and the importance of signaling instruments used in times of conflict. The status and pecking order of musicians within the military and the unique development of Drummers' uniforms are also detailed with the images contained within the book highlighting specific areas of interest. Mike Hall's personal knowledge and experiences of being a Senior Drum Major in the Coldstream Guards add polish and credulity to the content. Reading through the book you will uncover a mine of interesting information about the evolution of Drum and Fife duty and the historical roles of the Drum Major General and the Trumpet Major. The role of the Boy Drummer is discussed in relation to his importance on the battlefield and in the application of military discipline. 'With Trumpet Drum and Fife' is unique in its approach, is long overdue and fills a niche in military history.
Author: Paul French
Publisher: Helion and Company
ISBN: 1909384364
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 344
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Book Description
This all-new work chronicles the experiences of Paul French who, upon leaving the British Army's 21 SAS (V), sought adventure and excitement in C Squadron of the Rhodesian SAS. Upon passing the arduous Rhodesian SAS selection course, Paul was thrown into the maelstrom that was the Rhodesian Bush War. Here he participated in the SAS's infamous raid on Joshua Nkomo and numerous other operations against insurgent / liberation forces. Passing selection for Ron Reid-Daly's elite counterinsurgency specialists, the Selous Scouts, the author took part in 'externals' against FRELIMO and ' attachments' with the Mozambique National Resistance. Paul continued to serve on operations with the Rhodesian SAS until the end of the 'Chimurenga' in 1980. Paul then went on to join the South African Defense Force's elite 6 Reconnaissance Commando. A career in private security followed, with a series of assignments in Angola, Iraq and Somalia. This impressive book pulls no punches. It gives a unique and purposefully opinionated insight into the workings of the Rhodesian SAS and the Selous Scouts. It tells of the missions that succeeded and of the many that failed. It notes simply and succinctly the sheer stress and danger of special forces operations - all of which were deep in enemy-held territory with the threat of capture and death. Attempts to blow rail lines, helicopter assaults, pseudo-operations, the laying of deadly ambushes and risky parachute inserts are candidly related, accompanied by an unparalleled selection of photographs, most of which have never been published before. Born in West London, Paul French first sought military adventure in the County of London Yeomanry and then 21 SAS (V). Here, Paul discovered a yearning for hard work and arduous duty. A subsequent defence contract took him to Abu Dhabi where he learnt of Rhodesia and its attractions. Holidaying in Rhodesia, Paul took the opportunity to join the Rhodesian Army, serving with the renowned Rhodesian SAS and Selous Scouts. In 1980, Paul moved to the South African Defence Force, joining its elite 6 Reconnaissance Commando. Upon leaving the SADF a career in private security followed. An accomplished skydiver, Paul has thousands of jumps to his credit, and still jumps today. Married to Petah, Paul has three children. He continues to work in the security industry and now lives in the South-west of England. Shadows of A Forgotten Past is his first book.
Author: Timothy Bax
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 190998244X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 406
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Book Description
The memoir of a special forces veteran of the Rhodesian War, with over a hundred photos included. Nothing terrorized Russian and Chinese-backed guerillas fighting Rhodesia’s bush war in the 1970s more than the famed Selous Scouts. The name of the unit struck fear in the hearts of even the most battle-hardened—rather than speak it, they referred to its soldiers simply as Skuzapu, or pickpockets. History has recorded the regiment as being one of the deadliest and most effective killing machines in modern counter-insurgency warfare. In this book, a veteran of the unit shares his stories of childhood in colonial Africa with his British family, documenting a world where Foreign Service employees gathered at “the club” to find company and alcohol, leopards prowled the night, and his mother knew how to use a gun. Eventually he would move to Canada, only to feel drawn back to the continent where he grew up. There he would be recruited into the Selous Scouts, comprised of specially selected black and white soldiers of the Rhodesian army, supplemented with hardcore terrorists captured on the battlefield. Posing as communist guerrillas, members of this elite Special Forces unit would slip silently into the night to seek out insurgents in a deadly game of hide-and-seek played out between gangs and counter-gangs in the harsh and unforgiving landscape of the African bush. By the mid-1970s, the Selous Scouts had begun to dominate Rhodesia’s battle space. Working in conjunction with the elite airborne assault troops of the Rhodesian Light Infantry, the Selous Scouts accounted for an extraordinarily high proportion of enemy casualties. Not content with restricting themselves to hunting guerrillas inside Rhodesia, they began conducting external vehicle-borne assaults against camps situated deep inside neighboring countries. Recounting his experiences while surviving in this cauldron of battle, while also relating with dry wit the day-to-day details and absurdities of the world that surrounded him, Timothy Bax provides a rare look at this time and place.
Author: Albert Blockwell
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1908916060
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 346
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Book Description
Many books have been written about the Second World War and the majority of them either concentrate on a particular battle, campaign or unit. Individual accounts are certainly in a minority and those from the lower ranks even more scarcer. Helion and Co Ltd are therefore pleased to announce the publication of Diary of A Red Devil. It relates the war time experiences of a young man, Albert Blockwell from the northeast of England, who in February 1940 was called up for service with the Army. Initially conscripted into the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and trained as a vehicle mechanic, he was then posted in March 1940 to a prewar Territorial unit - The 7th Kings Own Scottish Borderers, then a home defense unit based near London. His diary is a most interesting account of a young vehicle mechanic who also had to learn to be a infantry soldier. Albert remained with this unit for all his wartime service, later going to the Shetland Islands when the 7th KOSB were part of OSDEF (Orkney and Shetlands Defence Force). Then in late 1943 much to their surprise the unit was posted to Lincolnshire to become the third infantry unit in the 1st Airlanding Brigade then in the process of returning from Italy with the rest of the 1st Airborne Division. Swapping their glengarries for red berets Albert and his comrades had to adapt to their new way of getting to war by glider. The diary continues with a down to earth account of the highs and lows of the next few months. Then in September 1944 Albert flew to Holland on Operation Market-Garden and his account (written in PoW camp) describes the savage nine days fighting at Arnhem from the slit trench level. Taken prisoner on the last day his account then describes the spartan life in PoW camp without pulling any punches. Sadly Albert died in 2001 but his diary survived and his daughter Maggie Clifton together with help from two published 'Arnhem' authors have edited a unique account of the fighting at Arnhem from the front-line soldier's perspective. Key sales points: Unique personal account of the formation of Britain's airborne forces and their epic actions during Operation Market Garden, The diary is supplemented by extensive annotations from acknowledged Arnhem expert Niall Cherry providing additional information relating to the units and individuals mentioned in Albert's diary, Features a large number of rare photographs and documents.
Author: Leon Bennett
Publisher: Helion and Company
ISBN: 1908916435
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 386
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Book Description
Fighter pilot Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron) lacked innate aerobatic ability. As a tyro, he attempted to solve this problem through denial, going so far as to sneer at stunting as pointless. Great War air combat experience proved quite the reverse, and so we would anticipate a short and sad fighting life for the fellow. Yet the Red Baron became the Great War's single greatest scorer, as measured by total victories. How did he do it? This book is concerned with tactics, especially those tactics used by the Red Baron and his opponents. It offers the how and why of Great War aerial combat. The author leans heavily on his expertise in engineering and aerodynamic techniques to explain this, with his reasoning presented in a readable, non-mathematical style. Absent are both the usual propaganda-laced Air Service reports and psychobabble. Offered instead is the logic behind Great War aerial combat; i.e., those elements determining success or failure in the Red Baron's air war. Gunnery experience led to the machine gun as the weapon best suited for aerial combat. Joined with a suitable aircraft, the extremely successful Fokker diving attack resulted. In reaction, effective defensive techniques arose, using forms of shrewd tactical cooperation by two-seater crews: pilot and gunner. These are detailed. Numbers mattered, establishing the level of assault firepower. Tactics of machines flying together in formation are given, as well as those of 'formation busters', intent upon reversing the odds and turning large numbers into a disadvantage. A pilot's nature and emotions had much to do with choosing between the options defining tactics. What were the aces like? How were tactics tailored to suit personality? What traits made for the ability to grapple with a jammed machine gun? A dozen high achievers are examined in terms of tactics and background. In a fascinating study Leon Bennett covers all of these aspects of WWI aerial combat, and more. Similarly, the author turns his attention to examining the cause of von Richthofen's death, employing the tools of logic, rather than merely accepting one of the many conflicting eyewitness reports as truth. In doing so, much testimony is exposed as unlikely. The bullet scatter to be expected from ground anti-aircraft fire matters greatly, and is developed, along with the odds against lone riflemen hoping to hit a fast-moving low altitude target. The most dangerous altitude for front-line crossing is established. The author concludes by rating the possibility of a rifleman downing the Red Baron as quite realistic - certainly as likely as any of the more celebrated possibilities. This is an important book, offering a groundbreaking account of WWI aerial tactics, and a thorough examination of the final combat and death of the Red Baron.
Author: Peter Mezhiritsky
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1908916753
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 558
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Book Description
Nominated for the 2013 PushkinHouse/Waterstone's Russian Book Prize. Like some astronomers, who discover cosmic objects not by direct observation, but by watching the deviations of known heavenly bodies from their calculated trajectories, Peter Mezhiritsky makes his findings in history through thoughtful reading and the comparison of historical sources. This book, a unique blend of prosaic literature and shrewd historic analysis, is dedicated to events in Soviet history in light of Marshal Zhukov's memoirs. Exhaustive knowledge of Soviet life, politics and censorship, including the phraseology in which Communist statesmen were allowed to narrate their biographical events, gave Peter Mezhiritsky sharp tools for the analysis of the Marshal's memoirs. The reader will learn about the abundance of awkward events that strangely and fortuitously occurred in good time for Stalin's rise to power, about the hidden connection between the purges, the Munich appeasement and the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, and about the real reason why it took so long to liquidate Paulus' Sixth Army at Stalingrad. The author presents a clear picture of the purges which promoted incompetent and poorly educated commanders (whose most prominent feature was their personal dedication to Stalin) to higher levels of command, leaving the Soviet Union poorly prepared for a war against the Wehrmacht military machine. The author offers alternative explanations for many prewar and wartime events. He was the first in Russia to acknowledge a German component to Zhukov's military education. The second part of the book is dedicated to the course of the Great Patriotic War, much of which is still little known to the vast majority of Western readers. While not fully justifying Zhukov's actions, the author also reveals the main reason for the bloody strategy chosen by Zhukov and the General Staff in the defensive period of the War. In general, the author shares and argues Marshal Vasilevsky's conviction - if there had been no purges, the war would not have occurred. The book became widely known to the Russian-reading public on both sides of the Atlantic, and in the last ten years its quotations have been used as an essential argument in almost all the debates about the WWII. The book is equally intended for scholars and regular readers, who are interested in Twentieth Century history.
